Red Bend aims to bring mobile virtualization and BYOD to the masses

The company introduces vLogix Mobile 5.0 with a Type-1 hypervisor for mobile devices

InfoWorld|Jan 9, 2012

The idea behind mobile virtualization technology is quite simple: Platform developers take a smartphone and add some type of a virtualization layer to it to provide users with a personal/corporate all-in-one device, which will help with corporate BYOD initiatives. Corporate data can be protected from personal applications, and users can keep their personal information private and free from corporate management and company policies.

But mobile hypervisor technology can go beyond just a separation of corporate and personal. It can help further segment personal use cases from one another and even make it possible to have service from multiple carriers on the same device. Who knows where it can lead?

Quite a few companies are already making a play in this area, and it should come as no surprise that virtualization giant VMware is one of those looking beyond server and desktop virtualization. VMware has been fairly vocal about bringing its mobile virtualization platform to market, and we've seen demonstrations of its technology -- now called Horizon Mobile -- at VMworld events.

The company is working on a Type-2 hypervisor that currently operates on top of Android. Going this route means VMware won't have to work with every device manufacturer to ensure support, but it does keep it from enjoying Apple's iOS market. For now, VMware is said to be working closely with Samsung and LG to incorporate the hypervisor into their devices.

But a larger deal may be brewing with Google to get VMware's technology into the Android OS itself, much like Xen and KVM have been able to do with the Linux operating system for server and desktop virtualization. Speaking of Xen and KVM, let's not forget that these hypervisor technologies are also looking to migrate into the mobile market. There are a number of projects to try and port Xen and KVM virtualization to the ARM processor architecture.

Now Red Bend Software has announced its intentions for the mobile market with the latest release of vLogix Mobile 5.0, which the company calls the first mobile virtualization solution ready for mass-market deployment to consumer and enterprise smartphones, tablets, modems, and wirelessly connected devices. Unlike other mobile virtualization products, Red Bend says, vLogix Mobile is the first that can be integrated in a matter of weeks rather than months.